Benjani Mwaruwari
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Benjamin Mwaruwari | ||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Portsmouth | ||
| Number | 25 | ||
| ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 00:00, 24 December 2006 (UTC) | |||
Benjamin 'Benjani' Mwaruwari (born 13 August 1978 in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe), is a footballer currently playing for Portsmouth in the Premier League as a striker. He was born to parents of Malawian descent and has chosen to represent Zimbabwe at professional level, the country where he was born and raised. In the Ngonde language, his name should read Mwaluwali but because the Shona language uses 'R' in place of 'L', since 'L' is not part of Shona alphabet, his name now reads Mwaruwari. In Zimbabwe they call him the undertaker for his ability to 'bury' teams. Benjani would score frequently in his playing days in Zimbabwe and ultimately put more goals past teams, hence he was 'burying' them.
Early career
Benjani played for the Lulu Rovers and University of Zimbabwe teams in Zimbabwe's Division one and Air Zimbabwe Jets in the country's Premier League in 1999. He moved to South African club Jomo Cosmos (1999-2001) where he met his mentor Jomo Sono, this was after impressing in the friendly match between South Africa and Zimbabwe that was played to commomerate the inauguration of Thabo Mbeki as the president of South Africa. Zimbabwe won that match 1-0 courtesy of Harlington Shereni's goal at the FNB Stadium.
In 2001 he was voted Footballer of the Year in South Africa alongside Siyabonga Nomvete despite only having joined the South African Premiership in the second half of the season.
Europe
He later moved to Grasshoppers Zürich of Switzerland on loan (2001-2002). Then in 2002, Guy Roux handed him a trial at AJ Auxerre of France. Benjani had a good run at the start, capitalising from Djibril Cissé's absence, becoming top goalscorer in Ligue 1. Roux never played the two together, and eventually Benjani found himself surplus to requirements under Roux's successor,Jacques Santini, this time forced out of the 4-5-1 formation by Luigi Pieroni. On 5 January 2006 English Premiership club Portsmouth signed him from Auxerre for a club record fee of £4.1 million after Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger recommended the player to Harry Redknapp.[1]
This transfer from Auxerre to Portsmouth in January 2006 is one of those about which the Stevens inquiry report in June 2007 expressed concerns:
“Agent Willie McKay acted for the selling club, Auxerre, in the transfer of Benjani and, for the same reason as above” {still awaiting clarification) “the inquiry is not prepared to clear these transfers at this stage.”
“In relation to Benjani’s transfer, the inquiry also has identified concerns regarding the role of (agent) Teni Yerima and (third party) Ralph N’Komo”[2].
Portsmouth
After failing to score in his first fourteen games for the club, Benjani finally got his first goal for Portsmouth against Wigan Athletic on 29 April 2006 in a 2-1 victory which saw Portsmouth avoid relegation from the Premier League.[3] Benjani has been criticised by some due to a lack of goals,[citation needed] while others disagree, pointing to his work ethic and intelligent link-up play.[citation needed] Regardless, he scored six goals in the 2006-07 season. He then started the next season with goals in the opening two games, at Derby County and at home to champions Manchester United. On 29 September 2007, Benjani scored his first hat-trick for Portsmouth in an incredible 7-4 victory over Reading, which broke the record for both the number of goals scored in a Premier League match, and a league match shown on Match of the Day. After Portsmouth's visit to Wigan on 20 October, Benjani became the Premier League's top scorer.
Portsmouth boss Harry Redknapp banned Benjani from taking any further penalties after Mwaruwari missed a spot-kick in second-half injury time in a home game against West Ham United.[4] He then made amends for his miss scoring in the 4-1 victory over Newcastle United to bring his total to eight this season. He then scored his ninth of the season, albeit it was a consolation goal in a 4-1 defeat at Liverpool. On 19 January 2008, Benjani earned his second Portsmouth hat-trick, scoring all of his side's goals in a 3-1 victory over Derby County at Fratton Park. This took his tally for the season to 12 and subsequently resulted in him revising his target for the season.
The striker's recent form cemented Manchester City manager Sven-Göran Eriksson's interest in the player, and on 31 January 2008 he had a bid of £8m accepted for the transfer of the player. However, it was revealed that Benjani had missed two successive planes to Manchester and a third was cancelled, meaning he didn't arrive at the clubs training ground until 11.10pm, leaving insufficient time to complete a move before the midnight deadline. Portsmouth had already confirmed the signing of Benjani's replacement, Jermain Defoe for a fee in the region of £9,000,000 from Tottenham Hotspur, with the impending sale of Benjani supposedly funding the majority of the transfer. As a deal wasn't concluded, he will remain on the South coast until at least the summer of 2008.[5]
National team and country commitments
He is the current Zimbabwe national team captain, having taken the armband from the legendary Peter Ndlovu after the 2006 African Cup of Nations.
Benjani is the third Zimbabwean to play in the English Premiership after goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar and Ndlovu. In 2003, he became the first Zimbabwean to score in the UEFA Champions League.
Benjani is a key figure in the development of football in Zimbabwe. During the run up to the 2006 African Cup of Nations, he provided the funding for the senior national team's stay in France when they were preparing for the African soccer showcase.
Many Zimbabwean journalists, including Fidel M. Bondamakara, are of the view that Benjani's contributions will go a long way in upgrading Zimbabwean soccer standards. After Zimbabwe's failure to qualify for the 2008 African Cup of Nations he is expected to spearhead the campaign for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in neighbouring South Africa.
Notes and references
- ^ Portsmouth sign striker Mwaruwari, BBC News, 6 January 2006.
- ^ "What Stevens said about each club". www.telegraph.co.uk. 2007-06-16. Retrieved 2007-06-17.
- ^ "Portsmouth laud hero Mwaruwari". BBC Sport. 2006-04-30. Retrieved 2007-10-29.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Harry blast for striker Benjani". teamtalk.com. 2007-10-28. Retrieved 2007-10-28.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "City fail with Benjani swoop". Sky Sports. 2008-02-01. Retrieved 2008-02-01.
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External links
- BBC profile
- Benjamin Mwaruwari at Soccerbase